Price gets funds for water wells, project planning

Price City was awarded more than $3 million in grants and loans from the Utah Permanent Community Impact Board to develop new water wells and plan other infrastructure improvements.

The city intends to drill two wells about 2,000 feet deep down in the Emma Park area about 18 miles north of town. The water will supplement the city's culinary water supply.

Financing for this project comes as a $1,442,300 grant and a zero-interest, 20-year loan of $1,443,000.

Price has rights to tap into the aquifer beneath Emma Park to draw up to 5,000 acre-feet per year, according to City Engineer Gary Sonntag.

Drilling could begin next year, but that is contingent on completing all the preliminary engineering and permitting involved. Mr. Sonntag explained that the city will have to get access to the well sites and then confirm the quality of the water.

The short-term means of getting the water to city faucets would probably be spilling the outflow down stream in Sulfur Canyon, which flows into the Price River above the city's diversion. Then it would go through the Price Canyon treatment plant to be brought up to culinary standards. A long-range plan would involve construction of a pipeline through Sulfur Canyon to intersect with the city's existing transmission line parallel to U.S. 6.

The city also received a grant of $175,000 for studies of streets, water system and parks. Mr. Sonntag said Price wants to inventory and assess those aspects of its infrastructure for its master plan.